The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has announced the award-winning films for their 41st edition. See the list of award winners below as well as our interviews with a couple of those award winners.
The Best Documentary Award
GASLIT
Directed by Katie Camosy
The ADL Stand Up Award sponsored by ADL Santa Barbara/Tri-Counties
BOOKENDS
Directed by Mike Doyle
The Audience Choice Award sponsored by The Santa Barbara Independent
STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE
Directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema
A MOSQUITO IN THE EAR
Directed by Nicola Rinciari
The Jeffrey C. Barbakow Award for Best International Feature Film
ADAM’S SAKE
Directed by Laura Wandel
The Nueva Vision Award for Spain/Latin America Cinema
VERSAILLES
Directed by Andrés Clariond Rangel
The Best Animated Short Film Award
PAPILLON
Directed by Florence Miailhe
The Best Documentary Short Film Award
A SHORT DOCUMENTARY ABOUT A GIANT PENCIL
Directed by Daniel Straub
The Best Live-Action Short Film Award
AGNÈS
Directed by Nora Arnezeder
The Social Justice Award sponsored by the Fund for Santa Barbara
STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE
Directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
The ASC Award for Cinematography sponsored by The American Society of Cinematographers
LOST LAND
Directed by Akio Fujimoto
The winning films were chosen by SBIFF 2026 jury members Adam Guettel, Adrien Martinez, Jordana Brewster, Joseph Novoa, Karla Quintero, Langdon Page, Marissa Chibas, Michael Patti, Tina Sawtelle and Travis Preston.
You can check out more of our 2026 SBIFF interviews here
— Kari Lane